


Shadows at Dawn

by taberune



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Fluff, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I am on a jasico roll and I can't stop and it is not good for me., Jasico - Freeform, M/M, nico thinks about bianca, thalia is also mentioned, why are all my pieces so short help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:45:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taberune/pseuds/taberune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where there are shadows, there is light; one cannot exist without the other, and you would think Nico di Angelo would understand that by now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadows at Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This short piece is dedicated to my wonderful, wonderful friend Isabella, who is the only reason I began to post my work here. It's been a small (huge) journey for me to post on here, but I've found people are awesome and the community is great, and none of this could've been done without her. She gave me inspiration and courage and so much more and I am forever in her debt <3

Nico di Angelo wakes from a nightmare, panting, tear tracks streaking his cheeks. He cries, and Bianca di Angelo, just turned six, wraps her arms around her brother and pulls him to her chest. Deadly monsters and cruel kings and queens disappear as Bianca holds him tightly, because they’re weaker than she is, really. Bianca is the strongest person in the world, Nico thinks, as he brushes his tears away with the rough fabric of Bianca’s shirt, because she is able to scare demons and evil back into hiding.

Bianca slips in between the sheets to join her brother, still mumbling softly what pieces of comfort she can gather at midnight, and smooths his hair backwards slowly, rhythmically. She’s very good at what she does: being a sister, caring for Nico, putting his needs before hers, and Nico wonders what it would be like if Bianca had never been born. Probably, he would never sleep, because she wouldn’t be there to rip away his nightmares and slip him sweet dreams. 

The next time Nico wakes because of a nightmare, Bianca is there, ready to soothe him to sleep. Nico wonders when he’ll be too old for her to hold, for her to comfort, and decides that he will never be too old, as long as Bianca is willing to be there for him. Clearly, Bianca thinks that ten years is too old, because she leaves him to his nightmares then, and goes to join the Huntresses, full of vibrant dreams. Nico swears he hates her, but he doesn’t really, he just misses her so much. And after that, he’s left to miss her forever.

Nico di Angelo wakes from a nightmare, panting, tears streaking his cheeks. But this time, it’s no nightmare. He’s alone, and there are monsters and his inner demons, and this time Bianca’s not here to hold him, and Nico wonders _why_ he’s the child of Hades left alive. Surely, Bianca would have been a better addition to the quest than he. She was loving and caring and beautiful, and she would have been a strong demigod if she’d had the time that was taken from her. (Surely, it should have been Nico who’d died instead).

It’s dark, and Nico’s in his bed in the Argo II, sheets clinging to his sweaty body. The only thing he can hear is his heartbeat echoing like some mocking voice, telling him he’s so very alive while Bianca is so far away from him. He throws off the blanket and shoves open the wooden door of his cabin, his heart calming as soon as he’s outdoors. Apparently, he doesn't like small spaces anymore, after the jar incident with the giants.

Nico climbs to the top of the mast and sits on the very edge after carefully inching his way across. He likes it, up there, wind rippling white sails softly as the stars grapple for attention. 

“Hey.”

The night’s perfect silence is broken, and Nico looks around. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” Jason Grace asks, still looking as perfect as ever, with a sleepy smile and messy hair.

Nico shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep, Grace.”

“You miss her.”

Jason’s remark stuns Nico and his eyes widen. Jason shrugs and shuffles over to sit next to Nico. “I heard you shouting her name. Bianca, I mean. Don’t worry,” he adds when seeing the alarm in Nico’s face. “It’s just because my cabin’s the one closest to you.”

Nico feels his face flush. Obviously, he hadn’t been as good at masking his feelings as he thought. “It’s nothing,” Nico repeats, but his tongue feels dry and thick in his mouth, and his throat feels blocked.

“It’s okay, Nico. You can cry, you know? Nobody’s here but me.” Jason’s voice is gentle and tender, unlike the playful sarcasm it’s usually full of when he’s chatting with the other crew members.

Nico opens his mouth to say that, no, he’s not about to cry, he can’t, when he feels hot tears rolling down the side of his cheeks. He scrubs furiously at his eyes, but he can’t stop, so he gives up, and hunches over in himself, shoulders heaving heavily. He feels relief, as if a heavy weight has suddenly been lifted from his chest. Or perhaps the sky on his shoulders isn’t as heavy when there’s someone helping him. 

“Percy tells me she was really cool,” Jason continues, inching closer towards Nico and tentatively smoothing his hair, his movements becoming surer when it becomes clear Nico has stopped trying to protest. “I’m sure she would have loved to see you as you are today.”

“She wouldn’t have,” Nico whispers, the words getting stuck in his throat like sharp thorns.

Jason smiles, and moves even closer to Nico, so that he’s supporting most of Nico’s weight. “But there’s so much to be proud of,” he says, and his voice is so clear, so sure, that in the moment, Nico believes him, and suddenly, Nico is young again, and Nico is safe.

Jason continues to murmur soft words, and Nico continues to cry, and they continue to sit side by side on the mast until the sun begins to rise, and Nico begins to run out of tears. 

“Thanks,” Nico says. His head is propped up on Jason’s shoulder, but he doesn’t move.

“For what?” Jason’s arm has snaked his way around Nico somewhere in the night, and is holding him tightly.

“For, I don’t know, _this_ ,” Nico finishes lamely, gesturing at Jason’s hand wrapped around his waist, his other hand toying gently with Nico’s fingers. “Bianca would do the same when I was younger. When I had a nightmare, I mean.”

Jason grins. “Thalia would for me, too.”

And Nico grins back. The sun has risen, and it’s not a dream anymore. Bianca is gone, and the monsters are real, and his demons are always ready to pounce; but the shadows have finally disappeared, and Nico knows their still there, somewhere, but wherever there are shadows, there is light. And if there is light, Nico knows he’ll be okay somehow.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! please leave a comment, i would really love that. have a nice day!


End file.
